Guest lecture: Vikki Forrest

Guest lecture: Vikki Forrest, 2/10/18

Unfortunately this lecture coincided with one of my teaching days, luckily I was able to watch the recording. Having seen Vikki’s guest lecture a few months back, I chose to watch this one as a revision exercise – as my work is now veering towards the world of Photobooks. However, this lecture was different and was predominantly about text and captions – which was incredibly useful.

Looking at three examples of Photobooks, specifically their layout and design, use of text and typography, Vikki stressed the importance of visual clues and the creation of the right atmosphere at the beginning of a book. New to me was the idea of a photo essay, how a series of photographs near the front of the book tells a story through images, in the same way that sentences and phrases do. Maybe this could be the way I incorporate some of Jimmy’s original photos into my book. Also something to consider using different paper for the photo essay than for the rest of the work.

If working with full bleeds, a trim of 3mm should be allowed for. Also consider what part of the image will lie across the gutter. The material used for the front cover is very important. Cloth is durable but difficult to print on. Looser binding can lay flatter than tight binding.

Tommy Hafalla – Ili

This starts with a half title page, followed by a full title page, and then a poem which gives an indication of what the book is about. These three pages are called the front matter.

Simple layout, rigorous. Single spreads / double spreads. However you arrange your photographs with texts / captions, it is important to be consistent throughout

Glossary of terms at the end.

Edmund Clark – Guantanamo – If the lights go out

Clarks’s book is signed, with a dedication to his children. He uses itallics and highlighting. None of the photos have captions. Instead, they are labelled as plates 1,2,3,4 etc; and then arranged as thumbnails at the end of the book with captions.

Angus Fraser – Santa Muerta

Fraser uses a modern approach to text. Starting with a half title page, and a poem, he then launches straight into imagery. This is known as a photo essay, and tells the story through images – photographic sentences and phrases. Pages are numbered. He too has a dedication near the front of the book. Photographs have no text. Fraser’s book has chapters and there are large amounts of documentation towards the end, and acknowledgements.